Kingfisher to Buy Back Stock as Pretax Profit Surges

Europe biggest home improvement store Kingfisher plans to give back around 200 million pounds ($330 million) to stockholders this fiscal year after full-year profits surged 4.1 percent in 2013, in line with its forecasts.

The group, which trades as Brico Depot and Castorama in France and operates market leader B&Q and Screwfix in UK, also disclosed today that it intends to hunt for a strategic partner to help turn around its B&Q China unit, which has been posting losses.

“Looking ahead we are well placed to benefit from a pick-up in consumer spending as Europe’s economies return to growth,” said Chief Executive Ian Cheshire.

Underlying pretax profit rose to 744 million pounds in the 2013-14 fiscal year, up from 715 million pounds earned in the 201-13 fiscal year. The profit was in line with analysts’ estimates of a range of 738-748 million pounds, according to Reuters.

**relatedarticle**

Sales jumped 3.5 percent to 11.1 billion pounds on a constant currency basis, while revenues at stores that were open over 12 months grew 0.7 percent.

Kingfisher revealed that despite a tough market conditions in the first quarter, sales improved the rest of the year. However; while it gained market share in its most profitable market France, sales suffered due to weak economic conditions. The company also gained market share in Poland and UK.

Kingfisher closed the year with net cash flow of 238 million, and will pay a full dividend of 9.9 pence a share, representing a 4.7 percent growth. It also revealed that it will open four Screwfix stores in Germany and two Brico Depot outlets in Portugal.

The company’s shares, which have surged 41 percent in the past year, closed at 406.5 pence on Monday, valuing Kingfisher at 9.65 billion pounds.

To contact the reporter of this story; Jonathan Millet at john@forexminute.com

Jonathan Millet is currently the proud CEO of ForexMinute.com, the brand new financial news portal which is making waves among Forex traders around the globe for the innumerable Forex resources it offers. He also holds the position of Binary Options Consultant at ForexMinute.com.
Before ForexMinute.com was around, Jonathan was a successful Forex dealer and chief market analyst at Forexyard. He has also worked as a Forex trader. His other specialties include advising financial companies of how to stay head of the competition.

Risk Warning: All information on this website, including any opinions, charts, prices, news, data, Buy/Sell signals, research and analysis is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute any investment advice. Forexminute is not liable for any damage or loss, including but not limited to, any loss of investment, which may be based either directly orindirectly on the use of or reliance on such information. Before deciding whether or not to take part in foreign exchange or financial markets or any other type of financial instrument, please carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose. Note that the high level of leverage in forex trading may work against you as well as for you. Please seek advice of an independent financial advisor if you are not fully aware about the risks associated with foreign exchange trading. Forex trading on margin involves considerable exposure to high risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Forexminute does not endorse any companies, products or services which are represented on Forexminute.com The information on this website is subject to change without notice.